Saturday, December 31, 2016

It is once again time for
RockArtBlog to award the coveted annual C.R.A.P. (Certifiable Rock Art
Prevarication) award for what is one of the year's biggest rock art related
prevarications. This year's 2016 award goes to Utah senators Orrin Hatch and
Mike Lee for their legislative attempt to block the creation of Bear's Ears
National Monument in southeastern Utah, to protect uniquely beautiful lands as
well as amazing cultural resources including a large quantity of rock art. A late addition to this prestigious pool is Utah congressman Jason Chaffitz.

Rock art in proposed Bear's

Ears National Monument.

http://img.deseretnews.com

According to Thomas Burr of the
Salt Lake Tribune (published on September 15, 2016) "Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee introduced the legislation
Thursday to exempt the state from a law allowing the president to designate new
national monuments, but critics dismissed the move as a desperate 'Hail Mary'
in trying to halt protection of the Bear's Ears region in southeastern
Utah."

"The measure would prohibit the
president's use of the 1906 Antiquities Act within Utah, extending a loophole
that now covers Wyoming, as part of an effort to keep President Barack Obama or
his successors from using the unilateral power to create national
monuments."

Rock art in proposed Bear's

Ears National Monument.

Photo: Shanna Lewis, httpwww.cpr.org

Senator Lee
stated "New Yorkers would not
appreciate it if Utahns came in and told them what they could and couldn't
build in Manhattan, and Utahns don't like it when out-of-state special-interest
groups tell us how to use our land either.Over 50 years ago, the state of Wyoming was granted protections from
Antiquities Act abuse in their state, and all Utahns are asking is for that
same protection to be extended to their state. (The 1950s legislation creating
an expanded Grand Teton National Park was passed with the significant
concession to opponents that the Antiquities Act would not again be used in
Wyoming without the consent of Congress.)" (Burr 2016)

Rock art in proposed Bear's

Ears National Monument.

Photo: Tim Peterson, http://d1jrw5jterzxwu.cloudfront.net

Hatch
explained his opposition to the monument with the statement "today, we are again faced with
the threat of a unilateral designation of another 1.8 million-acre
monument in southeast Utah," Hatch said. "Such a designation would
far exceed the purpose of the Antiquities Act, which was written specifically
to protect special cultural sites and objects limited to the smallest
compatible area necessary." (Burr 2016)

Rock art in proposed Bear's

Ears National Monument.

natgeocreative.com, Public Domain

A
representative for the pro-designation effort explained that "Senator Lee confuses private land in
New York for the public lands in Utah that belong to all Americans," said
Jen Ujifusa, legislative director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
"The Utah delegation had three years to develop a meaningful and
reasonable conservation solution with the Public Lands Initiative, but
squandered that opportunity by listening only to industry and parochial
interests. This last-ditch Hail Mary shows they know the PLI has failed." (Burr 2016)

In a related internet report on Newsmax.com, on December 29, 2016, Karl Nelson, quoted Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz "The midnight move is a slap in the face to the people of Utah." (Nelson 2016)"Obama said in a statement that the monument will 'protect some of our country's most important cultural treasures, including abundant rock art, archaeological sites, and lands considered sacred by Native American tribes.'" (Nelson 2016) Please note the wording in President Obama's statement above. This might be the first time that the President of the United States has said the words "rock art" in a press conference, a historic occasion!It seems to me that this
opposition is somehow missing the point. The National Monument designation is
intended to protect this wonderful place from mining and petroleum production,
uncontrolled four-wheel driving and dirt-biking, and pot-hunting and vandalism
of cultural remains and rock art. How is protection a bad thing? Hatch, Lee, and Chaffitz, for their support and advocacy of vandalism and destruction, in this case, are
awarded the RockArtBlog 2016 C.R.A.P. award. Congratulations gentlemen.NOTE: The photographs illustrating this story were retrieved from the internet through a search for "Bear's Ears rock art public domain". If any of them were used mistakenly without permission I apologize.

PS: As of December 29, 2017, President Obama has signed the order to make Bear's Ears a National Monument. President-elect Trump and the Republicans in congress are vowing to overturn it after the change of office in January. I may have to enlarge the recipient pool of the C.R.A.P. award to include the whole Republican party.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

A November 21, 2016, article on LiveScience, written by Owen
Jarus, covers the recording of "thousands
of inscriptions and petroglyphs dating back around 2,000 years - in the Jebel
Qurma region of Jordan's Black Desert." (Jarus 2016) The article
details discoveries by a team led by Peter Akkermans, of The Netherlands Leiden University, who leads a
study project at Jebel Qurma. "Nowadays,
the Jebel Qurma area, and the Black Desert in general, is a highly inhospitable
area, very arid and difficult to cross," said Akkermans.

Petroglyphs found in the

Black Desert of Jordan.

Photo: Peter Akkermans

Petroglyphs found in the

Black Desert of Jordan.

Photo: Peter Akkermans

"The inscriptions
are written in Safaitic, and alphabetic script used by people who lived in
parts of Syria, Jordan, and Arabia in ancient times." (Jaris 2016) The
team's discoveries show that the Jebel Qurma area had trees, wildlife, and a
large human population around 2,000 years ago.

Petroglyphs found in the

Black Desert of Jordan.

Photo: Peter Akkermans

Petroglyphs found in the

Black Desert of Jordan.

Photo: Peter Akkermans

"The petroglyphs,
or rock art, show images of lions, gazelles, horses, and large birds that may
be ostriches. The inscriptions found near these petroglyphs tend to be very
short. "Most of the texts are simply names, like so-and-so, the son of
so-and-so," Akkermans said. A
few inscriptions suggest that the population of Jebel Qurma had conflicts with
the people of the ancient city of Petra, the Nabataeans. (Jarus 2016)

Petroglyphs found in the

Black Desert of Jordan.

Photo: Peter Akkermans

"Other
inscriptions tell of the challenges and
setbacks encountered by the people who lived at Jebel Qurma. "May there be
strength against hunger," one inscription reads, while another was written
by a man who said he was 'distraught over his beloved.'" (Jarus 2016)

The changes in habitability indicated by the petroglyphs and
inscriptions should be seen in light of our present challenges caused by
climate change. If such major environmental changes can happen under natural
conditions in a relatively short time, under essentially natural conditions,
what kinds of changes can we expect in the relatively near future under conditions
of increasing global warming caused by human activities? Perhaps we should take
this as a serious warning.

Note: to see the full article visit LiveScience at http://wwwllivescience.com/56944-ancient-inscriptions-found-in-black-desert.html.

REFERENCE:

Jarus, Owen,

2016 Ancient
Inscriptions Show Life Once Flourished in Jordan's 'Black Desert', LiveScience, November 21, 2016, http://wwwllivescience.com/56944-ancient-inscriptions-found-in-black-desert.html.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

A subject
in rock art that has long fascinated me is evidence of verifiable events
recorded on the rocks. As everyone's daily life is directly impacted by
meteorology, that is one area that we should expect to find evidence of in rock
inscriptions or pictures. An example of this can be found in inscriptions in
Davu Cave, in southeastern China. Located in the Qinling Mountains, this cave
contains written inscriptions of droughts occurring in the region and their
impact upon the population.

Writing for
LiveScience on August 20, 2015, Tia Ghose cited an August 13 article from the
journal Scientific Reports that outlined a series of droughts in that area and
the inscriptions that record them. The droughts were confirmed by analysis of
chemical elements in stalagmites from the cave. Study co-author Sebastian
Breitenbach, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Cambridge, England
explained that the team analyzed the proportions of carbon, uranium, oxygen,
and other isotopes, in stalagmites to
detect climate changes over time that signaled droughts." The amounts of radioactive uranium and carbon, which decay at a
known rate, tied specific parts of the stalagmite to particular historic
times." (Ghose 2015) And, "because the water seeping into the
cave was likely groundwater, the levels of oxygen and carbon isotopes could
provide information about surface conditions outside the cave. The team found
that oxygen and carbon levels rose when rainfall was low, suggesting that those
markers could reliably reveal when drought conditions occurred."
(Ghose 2015)

Comparing
this scientific record then with cave inscriptions revealed a very accurate
correlation.

"One inscription, which is
dated to July 27, 1596, says directly that there is a big drought, and that the
writers had come to the cave to get water and pray for rain. Another, dating to
1891m reads: 'On May 24th, 17th year of the Emperor Guangxu period, Qing
Dynasty, the local mayor, Huaizong Shu, led more than 200 people into the cave
to get water. A fortune-teller named Zhenrong Ran prayed for rain during the
ceremony.'"
(Ghose 2015)

"Another inscription mentions a
Dragon Lake that may have been in the cave." (Ghose 2015)

All in all,
records of seven droughts over the past 500 years corresponded quite well with
the recorded droughts in the cave formations. The team even used their data
from the chemical record and the inscriptions to construct a model to predict
future periods of drought in that region. That model predicts that "in the next decade, China is in for
more severe and more frequent droughts, though the model can't predict exactly
where or when the droughts will occur." (Ghose 2015)

Rock art,
not only as a record of the past, but as a predictor of the future. How about
that?

Saturday, December 3, 2016

We have long been convinced that mythology could offer insights into the meaning of rock art. I am sure that we all know of examples where we are convinced that this works, that the meaning of a rock art panel can be inferred by knowledge of the mythology of the people who created it. Now an article in the December 2016 issue of Scientific American makes the fascinating claim that mythology can be used to decipher meaning in cave art produced during the Paleolithic period.

Drawing of the Polyphemus

myth panel in Les Trois-Freres.

Public domain.

Julien d'Huy, in The Evolution of Myths, explains his process of phylogenetic analysis using statistics to generate "phylogenetic trees (that) reveal that species of myths evolve slowly and parallel patterns of mass human migration out of Africa and around the globe." (d'Huy 2016:64)

D'Huy explained that "my phylogenetic studies make use of the extra rigor of statistical and computer modeling techniques from biology to elucidate how and why myths and folktales evolve." (d'Huy 2016:64)

One of the myth families that he has applied this technique to is the "Cosmic Hunt", where "a man or an animal pursues or kills one or more animals and the creatures are changed into constellations." (d'Huy 2016:64) This story, in a number of variations, was common to the ancient Greeks in the story of Callisto who becomes the constellation Ursa Major, the great bear, and to the Iroquois, Chukchi, and Finno-Ugric tribes of Siberia. According to d'Huy "although the animals and the constellations may differ, the basic structure of the story does not." (d'Huy 2016:64)

D'Huy has traced the Cosmic Hunt myth back through history and around the world. He found it to be "nearly absent in Indonesia and New Guinea an very rare in Australia, but present on both sides of the Bering Strait, which geologic and archaeological evidence indicates was above water between 28,000 and 13,000 B.C. The most credible working hypothesis is that Eurasian ancestors of the first Americans brought the family of myths with them." (d'Huy 2016:65)

Another myth family that d'Huy has traced back to early origins is known as the Polyphemus myth after the one-eyed giant in the Odyssey who trapped Ulysses' crew in a cave and devoured some of them. In the same way as Polyphemus kept his herd of sheep in a cave, in variations of this myth animals are kept concealed by a trickster or other being, and a hero bring them to the surface of earth to sustain the people. The Algonquin Blackfoot people acquired buffalo in this way. "A composite phylogenetic tree of Polyphemus myths indicates that the stories followed two major migratory patterns: The first, in Paleolithic times spread the myth in Europe and North America. The second, in Neolithic times, paralleled the proliferation of livestock farming." (d'Huy 2016:68)

Drawing of the hero in the

Polyphemus myth panel in

Les Trois-Freres. Public domain.

"Phylogenetic reconstructions of both the Polyphemus and Cosmic Hunt stories build on decades of research by scholars who based their work primarily on oral and written versions of folktales and legends. The current models also incorporate empirical observations of mythological motifs in prehistoric rock art. Similarities in certain rock art motifs and the reconstructed stories open a new window on the mental universe of the first humans who migrated across the Bering Strait to the New World between 30,000 and 15,000 years ago.

In the myth of Polyphemus, as its original public most likely heard it, a hunter faces one or many monsters that possess a herd of wild animals. He enters the place where the monster keeps the animals and finds his way out blocked by a large obstacle. The monster tries to kill him. The hero manages to escape by clinging to the underbelly of one of the animals.

This protomyth - revealed by three separate phylogenetic databases, many statistical methods and independent ethnological data - reflects the belief, widely held by ancient cultures, in the existence of a master of animals who keeps them in a cave and the need for an intermediary to free them." (d'Huy 2016:69)

Drawing of the hero of the

Polyphemus myth panel in

Les Trois-Freres. Public domain.

D'Huy believes that this theme to can be applied to the Paleolithic world view on the origin of game. "At the Cave of the Trois-Freres (or "three brothers")

in the French Pyrenees, frequented during the upper Paleolithic, a panel shows a small creature with the head of a bison and the body of a human, which seems to be holding a short bow. Lost in the middle of a herd of bison, another animal, similar to a bison, turns its head toward the human hybrid, and the two exchange gazes." (d'Huy 2016:69)

This, he sees as an illustration of the herd of game animals being brought out of concealment (hidden in the cave perhaps) by a hero, to the people.

Now I have been relatively critical of statistical analysis in the past, especially when applied to rock art, but even without relying on statistics this explanation makes a great deal of sense, and when combined with the phylogenetic analysis of the mythology, I have to concede that I believe there is something here that is possibly of great importance to rock art studies. I look forward in the future to more contributions by Julien d'Huy. NOTE: Read the whole article in the December 2016 Scientific American magazine.

Saturday, November 26, 2016

On October
8, 2016, Dr. Steve Lekson gave the keynote speech at the CAS 2016 Annual
Meeting in Grand Junction. He discussed Chacoan influences in southern Colorado, particularly a communication channel between Far View House, Mesa Verde, and Chimney Rock Pueblo, Colorado, by means of fire beacons, with Huerfano Butte, New Mexico, and through it Chaco Canyon.

Far View House, Mesa Verde,

Colorado. www.nps.gov.

Huerfano
Butte, New Mexico, has three peaks on top that were visible from Chimney Rock Pueblo and
from Chaco Canyon. There was a fire box between the pinnacles of Chimney Rock
and fire pits (or fire boxes) on Huerfano Butte that could be seen from each
other. The Huerfano Butte fire pit would also have been visible from Chaco.
These would have been ideal for long-distance messaging. There was also a view
of Huerfano Butte from Far View House in Mesa Verde and it also has a fire box
so it must have been part of the network. These fire boxes were constructed in
AD 1015-1020 (by tree ring dates). (Lekson 2009)

Chimney Rock, Archuletta County, CO.

Photograph: 2002, Peter Faris.

"'Large fireboxes at Chimney Rock likely were used to signal Chacoans at the summit of Huerfano Mesa, a plateau hosting ancient fireboxes some 30 miles to the southeast of Chimney Rock and in sight of Chaco Canyon,' said Lekson. 'There was almost certainly line-of-sight communication between Chimney Rock, Huerfano Mesa and Chaco Canyon,' said Lekson. While there is no Chaco Great House on Huerfano Mesa, 'elaborate fireboxes and shrines suggest that somebody was there to pick up the phone and relay messages.'" (www.colorado.edu)

Chacoan geat house at

Chimney Rock. Photograph

coloradoencyclopedia.org,

public domain.

In her book Wild Inferno, novelist Sandi Ault described the communication system in a story that she attributed to a storyteller from fictional Tanoah Pueblo, which she located near Taos Pueblo. "Time before
time, the chiefs in the Center of the World could talk with fire and receive
its knowledge and power. They used what fire told them to hold the moon
unmoving in the sky."

"Far to the
north, many priests lived and worked on Fire Mountain, learning the Way. From
their round tower there, and from the ridge across the river, they made many
studies, watching Grandmother Moon and Father Sun rise over the shoulders of
Earth Mother. They measured with sticks and holes they made in the rock, and
they counted days with lines of dots and brush marks, or with piles of pebbles.
They built great night fires and used big, flat stones to shoot the light of
the flames far, very far. They sent their wisdom on nights when the moon was
hiding, so the fires could be seen in the sky. Three-days-walking to the south,
on Red Mask Mesa, the fire tenders received the messages, then built blazes of
their own, and - using the same kind of stones - sent the fire's light another
three-days-walking to the south, to the Center of the World. The chiefs of what
they now call Chaco Canyon would see the fires, read their messages, and the
Way would be known."

"The People
would gather at the temples, and the chiefs would say: On this night, I will
tell the moon where to stand, and it will come to that place because I say it
must! The People would watch and see."

"And when Moon
obeyed, and came to the appointed place in the sky, the People knew that the
chiefs were very powerful. The fires had bestowed their gifts." (Ault
2008:32)

Given that
the Chacoan Phenomenon in the Four Corners Region is believed to have been one of
influence and spiritual leadership throughout the region, the possibility that they could communicate over such vast distances would
possibility assume a spiritual significance as well.

3 mountains painted in a kiva

at Eagle's Nest ruin, Ute Mountain

Ute Reservation, CO. Photograph

Peter Faris, 1981.

In June
1981 we were lucky enough to tour the portion of the Ute Mountain Ute
Reservation south of Mesa Verde. This region has pretty much as many ruins as
Mesa Verde proper, with the added bonus that they have not been cleaned up. Pot
sherds, bones, tools, and cordage still litter the ground in this area. One
ruin that particularly intrigued me is known as Eagle's Nest. In this building
there is a painted kiva with three mountain peaks painted on the inside wall
(and if you look carefully you can make out some of the white dots that
outlined the peaks).

Eagle's Nest ruin, Ute Mountain

Ute Reservation, CO. Photograph

Peter Faris, 1981.

I have
since been fascinated with what those three mountain peaks might represent. If Eagle's
Nest could be seen as part of the communication network then perhaps the three
peaks painted in the kiva at Eagle's Nest ruin on the Ute Mountain Ute
Reservation south of Mesa Verde can be connected to the three peaks of Huerfano
Butte in the minds of the people? Is there any way that Huerfano Mesa could be
visible from Eagle's Nest ruin? Given the location of Eagle's Nest Ruin in a
canyon wall shelter I am pretty sure it cannot have sight lines to Huerfano
Mesa. Perhaps intervening locations with fire boxes could have transmitted
messages on from Far View to Eagle's Nest or from Huerfano Mesa to Eagle's
Nest. The problem here is that I have no knowledge of such fire boxes and I do
not believe that such research has been done. It would take detailed survey work to
attempt to discover lines of sight and fire boxes or beacons that would have
been used.

Three painted mountains

outlined with white dots. Spruce

Tree House, Mesa Verde, CO.

Photograph Peter Faris, 2002.

There is
certainly some significance to the three peaks at Mesa Verde. Spruce Tree House has a wall painting that also has
three peaks outlined by white dots. This theme would seem to be more than just
coincidence in decorative elements.

So,
although we apparently have instances of possible communication between Chaco
Canyon, Huerfano Mesa, Chimney Rock, and Far View House in Mesa Verde, the
information available does not yet justify making an assumption that there is
any connection between the three painted peaks in the kiva at Eagle's Nest Ruin, three painted peaks at Spruce Tree House, and the three peaks on Huerfano Mesa. Too bad too, it would have been such a neat
solution. I guess I will just have to keep looking for the answer of what the
three peaks represent. I will also be happy to hear your comments on this as well.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

A recent
story on www.archaeolgy.org reported considerable damage to rock art on cliffs
of Helan Mountain in the Ningxia Autonomous Region of northwest China by heavy
rains and flooding. "China.org.cn reports that rare flooding in the Ningxia Hui
Autonomous Region of northwest China has damaged some of the thousands of
prehistoric carvings on the cliffs of Helan Mountain. The images are thought to
have been created by nomads who lived in the area between 3,000 and 10,000
years ago. Some of the images were damaged by mud and silt, and about a dozen
images that had been carved on individual rocks were carried away by the flood
waters. Other pictures were lost when layers of mountain rock peeled off or
cracked in the heavy rains. Hu Zhiping, deputy director of the Helan Mountain
Cliff Painting Administration, said that the extent of the damage is still being
assessed." (www.archaeology.org 2016:2)

Helan
Mountain was decorated with an estimated 20,000 examples of rock art scattered
over several hundred kilometers. These had been created by nomadic tribes once
living in the area and are believed to be between 3,000 and 10,000 years in
age. "An
employee at the scenic area which has about 6,000 cliff paintings, said about a
dozen paintings on individual rocks were unaccounted for." (www.archaeology.org 2016:2)

This is
another reminder of the ephemeral nature of much rock art. This statement may
seem counterintuitive when we are discussing an art form that depends upon
solid rock for its medium, but you can visit museums all over the world that
are full of ancient works of art that are in better condition than the contents
of many rock art sites that are younger in age than thoseworks of art in the museums.
The morale of this story is that is
still critical that we fully record all rock art so that digital records may be
protected for the future.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

I recently
received some fascinating pictures and information from Jared Allen. Jared
shared some photographs of a rock art site near Almont, in Gunnison County,
Colorado. A couple of the photos show deeply incised grooves or the sort
usually defined as tool sharpening grooves, although some of the grooves appear
to be arranged purposefully to create a tree-like image. Much more interesting,
however, are a couple of Jared's photographs that illustrate what appear to be
Navajo Yei (Holy People) figures. Almont is a considerable distance from the
current region of Navajo habitation, so what gives here?

Almont rock art site, CO.

Photo, Jared Allen, 2016.

Almont,
Colorado, is approximately 9 miles north of the town of Gunnison, and 60 miles
NW of Saguache. Some references place the early Navajo and the boundaries of
Dinetah, the Navajo homeland, far enough north and east of their present
territory that it includes the San Luis Valley in south/central Colorado. "Dinétah
encompasses a large area of northwestern New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, and northeastern Arizona. The boundaries are inexact, and are generally marked by mountain peks which correspond to the four cardinal directions." (Wikipedia) Indeed, Mount
Blanca, one of the Navajo four holy mountains is located in the Sangre de
Cristo mountain range on the east side of the San Luis Valley.

Almont rock art site, CO.Recurved bow held byfigure on the right.

Photo, Jared Allen, 2016.

The right figure in this group appears to be holding a recurved bow considered a hallmark of athapaskan peoples and, thus, a possible Navajo identifier (see below).

"In Navajo tradition, the Holy People, or Yeis, are sometimes shown holding "recurved" bows. This technological innovation is thought by some to have been introduced by the ancestors of today's Navajo and Apache. The distinctive double curve is sometimes shown alone as a symbol for Naayee' Neizghani, or Monster Slayer, one of the Hero Twins." (www.nm.blm.gov/)If these images are indeed Navajo in origin they are probably dated from back early in the athapaskan entrance into this area, as with the passage of time the Navajo gravitated farther south and west. "The Navajo occupation of the region has been divided into two major phases - the Dinetah phase (ca. 1500-1630, which includes the entrance and settling of the area by the Navajo, and the Gobernador phase (ca. 1630-1800), during which time the Navajo culture became fully defined." (Wikipedia)

So, if
these Navajo figures are authentic, they are probably fairly early, or evidence
of a later wanderer.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

I have written elsewhere about the fact that when I was an undergraduate the field of Art History also included studying architecture and design/decoration. I do not see so much of that these days but, as for me, both architecture and design/decoration are legitimate branches of Art History and thus are eligible for inclusion here in RockArtBlog. The following combines both in an example of an Ancestral Puebloan structure in Utah.

Lintel over doorway, Ancestral Pueblo.

Photograph: Joshua Smith.

Humans are fascinated by fossils. This was as true for our early ancestors as it is for us. On October 6th, 2016, I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Joshua Smith, a contract paleontologist in Grand Junction, Colorado. We met at his favorite coffee shop and I had an excellent breakfast burrito and a cup of good coffee while we talked about Native American fossil knowledge. Smith showed me photographs of one of his discoveries, an instance of incorporation of fossil dinosaur footprints into the architecture of an ancestral puebloan building in Utah.

View of the underside of the lintel,

Ancestral Pueblo. Photograph:

Joshua Smith.

Smith first noticed them in 2003. While the building had long been known to archaeologists, apparently no one had noticed the tracks on the underside of the lintel over the doorway until Smith came along (an good example of we see what we expect to see, and an excellent reason for cross-disciplinary studies in rock art).

Pointing out one track on

the lintel, Ancestral Pueblo.

Photograph: Joshua Smith.

Some of the structure is dated from Basketmaker II, AD 50 - 500 (Wikipedia), but most of the construction appears to date from the Pueblo III period, AD 1150 - 1350 (Wikipedia). While the structure is constructed of cream-colored sandstone from nearby, the pinkish-colored sandstone of the lintel stood out as coming from a different source, although also local. In examining it Smith found the two dinosaur tracks on the underside where they were exposed to view. This may be important as the stone could have just as well been placed with the tracks on the upper side hidden from view. This suggests that they were purposely left so they could be viewed, and that they had some significance to the builders and occupants of the structure (Smith 2016).

Pointing out one track on

the lintel, Ancestral Pueblo.

Photograph: Joshua Smith.

Dinosaur tracks are classified into separate ichnospecies from dinosaur remains because they often cannot be pinned down to the exact species that made them. These tracks fall into the category known as Grallator. "Grallator tracks are characteristically three-toed (tridactyl) and range from 5 to 15 centimeters (or 2 to 6 inches) long. While it is usually impossible to match these prints with the exact dinosaur species that left them, it is sometimes possible to narrow down potential trackmakers by comparing the proportions in individual Grallator ichnospecies with known dinosaurs of the same formation." (Wikipedia)

Outlined track on the lintel, Ancestral

Pueblo. Photograph: Joshua Smith.

Smith identified the tracks as belonging to a small theropod dinosaur, similar to a coelophysis, based upon his knowledge of the age of the rock formation and the species extant in that time. (Smith 2016) Previously, I have written about Native American knowledge of fossil tracksites and cited a Navajo example identifying them as "giant lizard footprints". (Faris 2011) Whether the tracks had a spiritual value to the builder, or were just included for decorative purposes, this important discovery not only adds another example of Native American fossil knowledge, it provides evidence of another facet of their beliefs and material culture in which this knowledge could be expressed. Thank you Josh.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Driving in
to the Crescent Junction (Utah) rock art site one goes right past a Department
Of Energy radioactive tailings disposal site. This reminded me of a RockArtBlog posting on June 10, 2009,
titled Protecting Rock Art, in which I discussed poison ivy as a protection for
rock art panels, and speculated upon the efficacy of using rock art sites for
radioactive or toxic waste disposal to protect the rock art (Faris 2009). This
is close in concept, but the disposal is near the rock art, not around it, and, I think, coincidental. In other words they were not looking to protect rock art, they were looking for empty land to dump their radioactive tailings at.

Petroglyph panel, Crescent Junction

site, Grand County, Utah.

Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.

Petroglyph panel, Crescent Junction

site, Grand County, Utah.

Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.

It is a
good site though, worth visiting. I was there on a field trip from the 2016
Annual Meeting of the Colorado Archaeological Society (CAS) which was held in
Grand Junction over the weekend of October 6-8. Members of the Grand Junction
chapter of CAS are to be congratulated for an excellent meeting and programs.

The
Crescent Junction site is on a number of scattered boulders at the base of the
Bookcliffs formation on the North edge of the Grand Valley.

Fremont figure, Crescent Junction

site, Grand County, Utah.

Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.

Some of the
rock art is archaic imagery with anthropomorphs, quadrupeds, footprints, and
symbols intermixed. Many of the human figures seem to be Fremont in origin which
give us a timeframe of AD 1 to 1300 (Wikipedia).

Bat? Crescent Junction

site, Grand County, Utah.

Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.

One of the
interesting figures seen here has been identified as a bat by folks in the
area. It may be, maybe not, but it is interesting. Also some very complicated
panels which could be designated as palimpsests because of intertwined and
overwritten figures and symbols.

All in all
it is a great example of the type of marginal Fremont site found throughout
western Colorado and eastern Utah.

Pages

"We can be nearly certain that we who look upon the rock art today were not the intended audience. But they have meanings for us non-the-less. Whether that meaning is part of our archaeological studies, a part of national or regional heritage or simply an appreciation of their aesthetic beauty, we are their inheritors and it is up to us to preserve them with care and dignity." D. Russel Micnhimer, 2012.

CONTACT US AT: ARCHEOFARIS@YAHOO.COM, you can make comments, suggest subjects for future postings, or send a photo as an attachment to your e-mail for consideration as a future Pix Pick (submitting your photo is understood to include permission for use). NOTE: The previous e-mail address, rockartblogmail@yahoo.com, was apparently blocked by Yahoo for some unknown reason so I can no longer access it. If you have tried to communicate with me through that address I probably have not received your message.

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About Me

30+ year member of the Colorado Archaeological Society,
Founder and former President of the Colorado Rock Art Association,
Member of the Arapahoe County Cultural Commission, President of Institute for Archeoesthetics.
2013 recipient of the Ivol Hagar Award for outstanding service to the Colorado Archaeological Society, and a 2013 Colorado Rock Art Association Chapter Achievement Award. Member of Archaeology and Historic Preservation Committee and also Programs Committee of History Colorado.
Arapahoe County Cultural Council.